by Asia Rather and Lori Ricks
Freshman William Murphy yo-yos at the barbershop, grocery store and his church. He even yo-yos as he steps out of the shower, just to see how the yo-yo and string spin their way through the steam.
“My mom usually tells me not to break anything, and my dad tells me not to spend all of my money on yo-yos because there’s always going to be a new one I want,” William said.
William has been yo-yoing since his eighth grade math teacher gave him his first yo-yo last June.
“The most fascinating thing is the number of tricks you can do and how innovative you can get,” William said. “It is a form of art because it can be used as a skill for competing.”
William spends five hours a day practicing tricks, many of which he learns online. He has more than two dozen yo-yos ranging in price from $10 to $110.
“In ten years I hope to be sponsored and doing way better tricks than I’m doing now,” William said.
William recently started the Varina Yo-yo Club, which meets every Thursday. He asked Geometry and AP statistics teacher David Waterman to sponsor the club.
“His skill at yo-yoing is pretty impressive, so when he asked me if I would be willing to sponsor, I said yes,” Mr. Waterman said.
William teaches other students in the Yo-yo Club how to do tricks.
“One thing the club offers is just an opportunity to use something physical because so much of what we do now is electronic,” Mr. Waterman said.
Sophomore member Armanie Moore joined the club.
“There are more people than I thought who were interested in it,” Armanie said.
Many of William’s teachers said they have seen him yo-yoing.
“He shows me the new tricks he’s learned, new types of yo-yos he’s acquired and even YouTube videos on tricks he’s trying to master,” earth science and biology teacher Kelly Ostrom.
Senior Tonisha Pitchford said she watches William perform in the café.
“At first no one was paying attention to him, and then all of a sudden he started doing tricks, and everybody just turned their heads,” Tonisha said.
Mrs. Ostrom said William can be successful with anything.
“I think it really shows how dedicated William can be to anything he commits himself to,” Mrs. Ostrom said.
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